(~s, daring, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
Note: 'Dare' sometimes behaves like an ordinary verb, for example ‘He ~d to speak’ and ‘He doesn’t ~ to speak’ and sometimes like a modal, for example ‘He ~n’t speak’.
1.
If you do not ~ to do something, you do not have enough courage to do it, or you do not want to do it because you fear the consequences. If you ~ to do something, you do something which requires a lot of courage.
Most people hate Harry but they don’t ~ to say so...
We have had problems in our family that I didn’t ~ tell Uncle.
VERB: oft with brd-neg, V to-inf, V inf
•
Dare is also a modal.
Dare she risk staying where she was?...
The government ~ not raise interest rates again...
‘Are you coming with me?’—‘I can’t, Alice. I ~n’t.’
MODAL
2.
If you ~ someone to do something, you challenge them to prove that they are not frightened of doing it.
Over coffee, she lit a cigarette, her eyes daring him to comment...
VERB: V n to-inf
3.
A ~ is a challenge which one person gives to another to do something dangerous or frightening.
When found, the children said they’d run away for a ~.
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu as/for/on a N
4.
If you say to someone ‘don’t you ~’ do something, you are telling them not to do it and letting them know that you are angry. (SPOKEN)
Allen, don’t you ~ go anywhere else, you hear?
PHRASE: oft PHR inf feelings
5.
You say ‘how ~ you’’ when you are very shocked and angry about something that someone has done. (SPOKEN)
How ~ you pick up the phone and listen in on my conversations!...
PHRASE: usu PHR inf feelings
6.
You use ‘~ I say it’ when you know that what you are going to say will disappoint or annoy someone.
Politicians usually attract younger women, ~ I say it, because of the status they have in society.
PHRASE: PHR with cl politeness
7.
You can use ‘I ~ say’ or ‘I ~say’ before or after a statement to indicate that you believe it is probably true.
= I suppose
PHRASE: PHR that, cl PHR